Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空工業) has signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with foreign companies to collaborate on technologies related to tanks, warplanes and drones, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Last week, AIDC chairman Hu Kai-hung (胡開宏) and AIDC personnel visited the UK and signed the MOUs while attending the biannual Farnborough International Airshow.
The MOUs include an agreement to collaborate on military technologies for reconnaissance, defense and attack, are expected to enhance AIDC’s technology and provide complete support for the armed forces, he said.
Photo: Bloomberg
The nation’s ability to defend itself independently stems from its local military capability, Hu said, adding that AIDC would spare no effort boosting Taiwan’s independent defense capabilities.
AIDC took the first step by allying with a European aviation giant to jointly innovate drone countermeasures, as drone technology is developing rapidly worldwide.
Combining its high-quality techniques in avionics and system integration with the European company’s counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, AIDC could quickly tap into the drone market at home and abroad, while incorporating the domestic aerospace supply chain in Taiwan to develop defense devices for detection and interference that would meet different client needs.
Next, AIDC collaborated with a major US defense contractor on the upgrade of the M60 Main Battle Tank, and maintenance of 600-gallon fuel tanks, in line with the armed force’s project to upgrade 460 M60A3 Tanks.
The US defense contractor, having assisted many countries in upgrading more than 1,000 M60A3 Tanks, would transfer technology to AIDC and help develop its maintenance abilities, AIDC said, adding that it would draw on its successful experiences from its F-16 Maintenance Center, AIDC said.
The US company also licensed AIDC to maintain and repair the 600-gallon wing fuel tanks for F-16 fighter jets, helping to expand the servicing scope of the F-16 Maintenance Center, AIDC said.
As AIDC improved the performance of 140 serving F-16A/B fighters last year in line with the government’s Project Soaring Phoenix (鳳翔專案), and having purchased more than 60 F-16V Block 70 fighters from the US Air Force, Taiwan would soon have a fleet of more than 200 F-16V fighter jets — the largest air fleet in Asia.
Having been the primary contractor of the F-16 Maintenance Center and accumulating considerable logistics and maintenance experience locally in Taiwan, AIDC would develop maintenance abilities in collaboration with the US company to provide immediate services for the air force, AICD said.
Meanwhile, AIDC has also signed a deal with the US aviation system manufacturer that produces the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), which is an advanced aviation device that helps pilots track and target enemy fighters.
The US company could offer fast delivery and competitive prices via commercial sales to promote the JHMCS business jointly with AIDC, while also providing technical support for AIDC to help maintain and repair the JHMCS.
By equipping F-16V fighter jets with the JHMCS, AIDC aims to directly boost the air force’s military strength, the statement said.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS